Fri.’s Devo - Who We Are in Christ

Read 1 Peter 2:9

If you have asked Jesus to come into your heart and forgive you of all your sins, wash you, and make you his follower, then these scriptures will tell you what you are. You are a chosen generation. In John 15:16 Jesus said, “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain…” God chose us before the foundation of the earth to be his children. We are a royal priesthood which means we are part of a group of people that minister before the Lord. In the Old Testament only the priest could minister to the Lord in the temple. They all had jobs: some would keep the wicks trimmed in the menorah, some would put the shewbread out every week, some would burn incense, some killed the offerings and burnt them, etc. We do the same things, but in a New Testament way. Since Jesus was the final sacrifice that atoned for the whole world forever, there is no more need for a sacrifice. We sacrifice to the Lord by giving our lives, desires, future and plans to him. We keep our wicks trimmed by keeping our lives pure and under the blood. By “under the blood” I mean that we have confessed our sins to God and asked him to forgive us. When we have done this, his blood covers us like the skins covered Adam and Eve after they sinned (Gen 3:21), and we are righteous. Then our lights can shine unhindered. We put out the shewbread by eating God’s Word which is our daily bread. And we burn incense by praying our prayers to God which is a sweet aroma to him. We are a holy nation because we have chosen to live our lives for God and glorify him in what we do rather than ourselves. We are a peculiar people. “Peculiar” in the Greek means “purchased; saved”. God purchased us with the blood of his son who died to save us. He did all this for us so that we would praise him and testify of Him. It is not that God has an ego; he has an incredible love for us and wants us to chose him so he can pour out his love on us.

Lord, thank you for the sacrifice of your son, Jesus, that we might be covered and righteous before you. May we keep ourselves unspotted from the world and open to you.